Wednesday, 25 April 2012

I don't about where you are, but the weather here in West Yorkshire has been abysmal. My poor postwoman stepped into my house at lunch time, literally dripping. Being housebound most of the time I don't think I really see how bad it can get outside and going out can be a bit of a shock to the system. My outings over the last week have included Sunday lunch at the mother-in-laws (always yummy food and no washing up to do), a trip to the dentist (excruciating toothache caused that one) and a visit to a mobile phone store to get my beloved Samsung Galaxy S2 fixed (never in my life have I been so happy to shell out £130 and not come away with a new handbag/shoes/item of clothing).
The crafting side of the week has varied greatly, from sewing to sticking. I have flitted from thing to thing, depending on which mood striked me, in and amongst making up customer orders.

I'll start first of all by showing you my Thomas the Tank Engine patchwork cushion. This is the first cushion with an envelope closure I have ever made and I'm very proud. I also sewed the entire thing by hand as my pelvis has not been good so I have struggled to sit to use a machine. It is 16" square and fully lined. It is available for purchase on my website.
Along the sewing front, I have also started on the bits and bobs cushion I mentioned last week. I must admit, I was a bit dubious about the skill level required and whether it would even look any good, but this is a picture of what I did last night, and so far so good. It is a little fiddley and time consuming, but I love hand sewing and now I can see what it will look like, it will look amazing! Plus, it gets rid of quite a lot of fabric, which will make my other half a happier man!

A give away on Facebook on Monday saw three winners this time, each getting a fabulous gift. There was a pair of Ikea Rosali ceramic fridge magnets (available here), and a pair of striped ceramic coasters (available here).

There were also a set of shabby chic fabric stickies which are a fantastic alternative to sticky tape (available in my Ebay Store). They come in an assortment of colours and sizes and it is only £2 for 20 pieces! I wrap most of my items in tissue paper before packaging them and this stuff really makes it look pretty. The designs include Cath Kidston, Clarke and Clarke, Tanya Whelan, Ikea, and loads more. There are also children's ones available too.

The striped coasters above are a new release, along with two other designs, and they will be available to buy in my shop very soon. They come in sets of four and are only £7.99 per set.

I am also very excited about two new ceramic kitchen/bathroom wall tiles. Clarke and Clarke Floral Stripe in duckegg looks absolutely fantastic as a tile, as does this coffee and cream rose tile. These are also available in my online store.

Lastly, I have made three new pictures. Two blue and red shabby chic designs that are for sale (here) and one nautical design that is purely for pleasure (i.e. it's going in my bathroom), although I love it so much I may well offer the design for sale in the not too distant future.

Where shopping is concerned, I have done very little apart from bubble wrap and parcel paper. I have been a very disgruntled customer of AXA home insurance due to the unfair treatment I have received in putting in a claim for the broken phone. They won't pay out the claim until I provided a report, which would have been fine except the report they said they wanted on the phone (and so I got yesterday) was not what they asked for in a letter they sent. They are fully aware of my disability and the fact that I cannot leave the house on my own, which limits me to only having one day a week for any appointments, shopping etc, but they won't make any allowances for this and I was told it would be very easy to get any engineer out to my house! Needless to say I won't be a customer of theirs for much longer, and I would not recommend them, or Lloyd's TSB (who sold me the policy). Just saying!

A short but sweet entry today. I will be putting together a guide for how to make the lighthouse picture in a few days and will be doing an extra blog post for it, so make sure you watch out for that.